Offworld Industries, developer of the realistic FPS game Squad, has previously promised that the game will never launch paid DLC. However, when it was officially announced that the next update would start selling paid DLC, long-time fans and players of the game were caught off guard.
The new DLC will be a small expansion that will include two paid emoticons, as well as a set of free emoticons that all players will receive directly.
The official announcement said: "Emoticons are an animation that you can use to express yourself, communicate with each other, celebrate situations encountered in the game, or make breaks more interesting." We hope they enhance your Tactical Squad experience in terms of social and immersion. ”
Offworld says the first emotes are the start of a new form of support for Tactical Squad, and it's "happy to try," but for some players, the game's foray into microtransactions feels like a betrayal.
In a comment on the official pinned announcement of the game section on the Reddit forum, player FDM_01 wrote: "If it becomes a money-making game, I've already had a $60 experience in the game anyway, and I'll make it eat with Battlefield 2." ”
Offworld explained the sudden backsliding, saying bluntly that Tactical Squad needed new revenue streams to maintain healthy development and operations.
The announcement reads: "We understand that the inclusion of paid content in the game can be controversial, and Offworld's previous leadership has stated that paid DLC will never be added to Tactical Squad. With this in mind, we would like to notify you of this change in advance of the 4.2 release. ”
"As we look to the future, we see the long and healthy life cycle of Tactical Squad. It has a large and dedicated player base. We plan to make more updates and continue to support the game beyond 2023. While many of these planned updates are free, we also realized we needed a way to continue funding the development of Tactical Squad. Paid content like memes is one such way to help fund development and allow us to continue to improve the game. ”
But players don't buy it. User Sullixio's most liked post so far says, "Don't buy emoticons!!! Another post said, "It's a trap! Many people think that once there is a first time, the official will never stop there. However, some people expressed understanding for the change.